Oct. 17, 2007
Back to the Future. Tom is back in the job it always seemed that he wanted. It culminates the most tumultuous week that I can ever remember in Husker football. We will discuss each event beginning with Saturday's game.
Saturday was the worst game I have ever seen us play. The team was lifeless and very ill-prepared. It was obvious during the game that the staff had lost the team and the players had given up on the coaches. For the second time in six years of head coaching on two levels, Bill has had a team quit on him. By the half, it was evident that something had to be done because things couldn't continue to deteriorate. Shatel's column on Sunday brilliantly stated that we were done and some action had to be taken. Bill looked lost and as though he was a beaten man after the game. His demeanor was an insight as to why the team played so uninspired. I am very impressed with our fans because other than a smattering at the half, there were no boos. Yes, a great many people did leave at the half and that team gave them every reason to. But many of us stayed to the end and cheered the boys. In any other stadium in the country they would have been booed off the field at the half. The stadium would have resembled a Wednesday scrimmage in the second half.
The firing of Pederson was a necessary move to start to restore order. When he was hired, he was universally (myself included) hailed as the perfect man for the job. But the manner in which Frank was fired and the bumbled search for a successor was an early indication of problems. As I stated, Meyers' departure was a red flag that something was very wrong.
So now Tom returns to try to pull us out of this mess. I believe that Meyers would be a great choice as his second man and probable heir apparent. Tom has said he will not make any moves with the football coaching until the end of the year. It appears that Tom and Bill have very little relationship, so that should make for a complicated remainder of the season. Bill says he won't resign and Tom said he won't make any changes until the end of the season. But Bill gives every indication on both Saturday and yesterday of a beaten man who doesn't have any answers. He seems to see the writing on the wall and has the look of a man who wants this to be over. If Tom decides to make a change at the season's end, I know that he would have a great deal of credibility in coaching circles. Besides Bo and Turner, I see Paul Johnson, Brian Kelly and Jim Grobe as very interesting candidates.
So in the midst of all of this, we have a game to play. A&M comes to town amidst a coaching controversy of their own. But they aren't struggling to the extent we are, and they have beaten OSU. I don't envy Bill trying to get his team ready to play this week. If we are motivated and ready to play, this should be a tight game. If not, all bets are off and it could be another long day.
Keep the faith. GBR.
-- The Colonel